On Campus: Crystal Lake South alum Brian Fuentes pursues national title at Southeastern University

As a high school baseball player at Crystal Lake South, Brian Fuentes drew the interest of NAIA Southeastern University through a unique relationship.

Southeastern assistant coach Mike Mendoza and Fuentes’ uncle, Damil Reyes, played against each other in college at two different NAIA programs in Iowa.

As Fuentes thrived for the Gators, Mendoza asked Reyes, “Does your nephew want to come to Southeastern?” Fuentes already had committed to Wabash Valley, a junior college in southern Illinois. Two years later, Mendoza asked the same question, yet Fuentes had committed to NCAA Division I Indiana State.

When Fuentes was seeking a new baseball home to play his final season of eligibility, a phone call with Mendoza led him to the Lakeland, Fla., school, where he is making a big impact for the Fire (26-1), the nation’s No. 1 ranked team.

“I felt a good connection with Coach Mendoza as soon as he called me,” Fuentes said. “I felt comfortable with him. I wanted to be on a really good team, and I want to end my college career with a ring, a national title.

“It’s in Florida, so you can’t beat the weather either,” he said.

Fuentes is batting .440 this season with nine home runs and 37 RBIs for the Fire, who set a school record with a 26-game winning streak to open the season. Southeastern has a NAIA-best .376 team batting average and a 2.86 team ERA, which ranks fifth nationally.

“We’re a talented team,” Fuentes said. “If somebody isn’t doing so hot, the next hitter (or pitcher) is going to pick them up.”

Fuentes, who played on the right side of the infield at Indiana State, came to Southeastern with the plan of playing second base.

When Southeastern’s third baseman experienced shoulder problems, Fuentes was moved to third base instead.

“The transition has been a little hard for me,” he said. “I’m used to playing second or first. It’s a longer throw (from third), but I’m athletic enough and I’m a versatile guy. I’m always up for a challenge.”

Fuentes, who has 13 multi-hit games this spring, said he made only one adjustment at the plate to start this season.

“The only thing I changed is my mindset,” he said. “At a D-I school, there’s always more pressure. You want to be perfect. Here, since it’s my last year, I told myself, ‘I’m just going to go have fun and do my best. I’m going to see the ball and hit the ball.’ It’s been working.”

New assignment for Nystrom: After two seasons as offensive coordinator at John Carroll University in Ohio, Prairie Ridge grad Drew Nystrom will take over as interim head football coach, the NCAA Division III school announced Tuesday.

Over the past five seasons, head coach Rick Finotti guided the team to a 33-11 record. On Tuesday, he departed the program. Nystrom has been an assistant coach for three years under Finotti, starting in 2019 as run game coordinator and offensive line coach.

As a college coach, Nystrom has made stops at Wabash College, the University of Dubuque, Illinois, Memphis and Delaware. As a player, Nystrom started 34 games on the offensive line at D-I Bowling Green in Ohio.

Bannon bashes way to award: Richmond-Burton grad Brandon Bannon, a junior infielder at D-II University of Illinois-Springfield, was honored Monday as the Great Lakes Valley Conference Baseball Player of the Week.

Bannon homered three times last week and batted .667 to help the Prairie Stars (13-3) to a two-game sweep of McKendree. In a 15-4 victory Sunday, Bannon hit two home runs, drove in three runs and scored three times.

The next day, he went 3 for 4 and scored three times again to help UIS extend its winning streak to 10 games. This marks only the fourth time in school history that the Prairie Stars have a winning streak of 10 or more games. For the season, Bannon is hitting a team-best .463 with six homers and 20 RBIs. He also leads the team in runs (33), hits (31) and on-base percentage (.560).

Badgers’ Bannon roars: Wisconsin sophomore softball infielder/outfielder Peyton Bannon is batting .344 for the Badgers (14-7) this spring with 10 RBIs and a .489 on-base percentage.

Over the past five games, Bannon is hitting .462 with seven RBIs and six runs scored. In Tuesday’s 9-1, five-inning victory against Utah, Bannon went 3-for-3 with three runs scored and three RBIs. Wisconsin is 8-1 over its last nine games this spring.

Western golfers shine: Western Illinois senior golfer Cameron Karney (Prairie Ridge) has a team-low scoring average of 74.64 this season for the Leathernecks.

During four spring tournaments, Karney has a second- and a 15th-place finish to his credit. He was the runner-up with a 6-over-par 150 (76-74) at last month’s Alabama State University Spring Classic.

Karney’s low round of the spring is a 73 in the final round of the three-round Gulf Coast Intercollegiate earlier this month in Bay St. Louis, Miss., where he placed 29th as an individual.

Sophomore John Lishchynsky (CL South) ranks fifth on the team with a 79.77 scoring average. His best finish was a tie for 13th at Alabama State, while his low round of 74 took place in the second round of last month’s Pat Hicks Invitational at Southern Utah University.

• Barry Bottino writes about local college athletes for the Northwest Herald. Write to him at barryoncampus@hotmail.com and follow @BarryOnCampus on Twitter.